Where are we headed?

That essential question hung heavy in the air on Thursday, 1/28/10, when Chris Martenson, creator of The Crash Course, spoke to nearly 500 people at the Sonora Opera Hall. The whole event was a huge, “Wow!” I got home feeling terrified and excited all at once.  This guy, one of those nerdy, but folksy fellows, literally gave the group his crash course in world economics and banking, energy’s role in economic production and the balance of resource depletion–all packed into about one hour and at least another hour of Q&A. And he was brilliant–even erudite!  And thanks to a group of concerned citizens, headed up by local architect Coop Kessel and “internet media mogol” Bob Gelman, and The Foothill Collaborative for Sustainability (FoCuS), we had a chance to have Martenson bring his message to our sleepy little town, SNORE-Ah, CA (aka Sonora, CA).

Scarey?  Yes!  This guy outlined an entire history of world economics from the Roman Empire through serfdom straight on into the TARP bailout and the modern-day banking system.  Now, I went to college and took economics, but guided by Martenson, I started to really understand stuff that has eluded me forever. And then he drew that clear line that connects access to energy to economic health. In a nutshell?  No energy, no economic growth–Nada, Zip, None.  OK, I get it, you’ve got to have gas to make stuff and to ship stuff.  You’ve got to have gas to get to your job and then to the store to shop.  But wait!  The world’s oil supply is depleting EXPONENTIALLY!

That word, EXPONENTIALLY, rang out several times during Martenson’s gig.  World population has grown EXPONENTIALLY. In 1970 the global population reached 6,000,000,000 (those are billions), having taken more than 10,000 years to reach that big number.  Then in barely thirty years, it grew EXPONENTIALLY again by doubling in a blink of time. Now it’s estimated to grow again EXPONENTIALLY to 9,000,000,000 in less than 20 years!  And according to Martenson, that’s about all This Old Mother Earth can bear.  Water, land for food, livable regions will be tapped out–in one, maybe two generations. From oil supplies and population growth Martenson shared imposing data on our global resource drain.  From evidence that we’ve reached  PEAK OIL extraction to more evidence on the facts that we’ve over-mined all our minerals, especially copper. Hey!  Slow down!  I’ve got five grandkids!  I want them to live on AND inherit a healthy planet for their grandchildren!

BUT GET THIS: I did not get the “vibe” that Martenson is an environmentalist.  When asked about issues like global warming and climate change, he skirted around them noting that they were just too controversial.  Nor is he a fan of the Feds.  Yet, he chastised those folks who would ignore environmental regulations in order to maximize access to resources.

So, what’s it all about?  Well, here is this guy telling us that Government cannot solve our dilemmas.  Telling us that we’re not in the midst of problems, but rather we’re in the midst of predicaments.  His distinction?  Problems, like rock climbers rappelling from a cliff on ropes, have possible solutions.  Predicaments, like someone diving straight off a cliff, only have outcomes (in other words, that diver will either cut the water smoothly or belly-flop: Outcomes).  Our depleting oil supply is a predicament.  It is finite and inevitably shrinking, so what will the outcome be?  How will we address our oil needs and consumption? The entanglement of world banks and the International Monetary Fund?  Problem or Predicament?  That is one complicated issue!  Even with Martenson’s accessible explanations, I’m not educated enough to even begin to understand it.

So, there I am in a giant room filled with Liberals, Conservatives, Earth Firsters, United Forest Families Firsters (BTW, as I go to “press” that website has no info), business owners, school teachers, college grads, high school grads, grandparents, parents, college kids, the wealthy, the poor, straights, gays, Christians, Buddhists, Unitarians, Aetheists.  We represented Sierra Foothill people from every socio-economic strata, political view, lifestyle and spiritual orientation.  We’re all there to learn, but what was the meat of this meeting?

My quick impression?  After stirring us with his amazing synopsis of a world crisis on its edge, Chris Martenson shouted out to an audience of 500 Sierra Foothill folks:  “Take care of your own community!”  He told us that our essential task is to learn how to make systemic changes that will impact our own neighborhoods and towns. And he humbly, but proudly, shared what he is doing: Planting gardens and orchards, reducing consumption, working with young farmers to create replenish soils through permaculture, investing in solar power for his home.  In sort, using natural resources wisely and taking a long look at how to help his community do the same.

During the Q&A, I (rather nervously) got up and asked, “How can we educate more people, even kids, about this information?  How can we address our American tendency to over-consume? And give us three actions that we can take in our community now.”  His reply was thoughtful:

  • Meet with and work with the people who coordinated the evening’s event to expand awareness and understanding of these key issues.
  • Really examine what and why we spend.  Protect our money to get out and stay out of personal debt.
  • Look at how we can support local agriculture, how we can reduce oil dependency as individuals and families, and how we can build greater support for sustainable living in our local community.

So, I’m home.  the sun is up, heralding a new day.  What am I going to do today?

And you?  What are you going to do today?

I’m B.Z. Smith.  I tell stories.  Here’s one.